What is the Geneva Convention? Why is it important?

Question

Why does Bush want to rewrite it?

By supporting article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the Supreme court has upheld international law calling for fair trials and prohibiting torture and other cruel degrading treatment. Urge your Senators to maintain Article 3 of the Geneva Convention, and further to reject ANY PROPOSAL that would weaken it:
1. Alow for unfair trials and ill treatment of people in detention.
2. Authorize unfair trials that would allow the accuessed to be convicted on the basis of secret evidence
3. allow for teh use of interrogation techniques that amount to torture or ill-treatment
4. Undermine the fundamental right of judicial review through habeus corpus proceedings for anyone in detention
5. Codify a broad definition of "unlawful enemy combatant " that would grant expansive power to the Executive to detain peopel
6. Establish retroaactive immunity for individuals who may have committed torture and other war crimes
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE 202-224-3121 NOW and tell them to UPHOLD GENEVA!!!

Answer 1

Article 3

In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

It's Article 3 he wants to change, because he has a conservative and hard line approach in dealing with terrorist. He believes that the enemy should not be treated in any way human. In The Presidents eyes, we are allowing him to stall much information needed to complete the task of fighting terrorism AND he wants his clandestine agents to be exempt from this rule, so they won't be charged for cruel punishment, in time of war.

In other words, he wants his interrogators to do what the hell they want to get the results he needs. No compromising. No fair treatment. No nothing. If you the enemy, you'll be treated like **** till we get what we want.

But here's the other side of the coin.

If we must do anything and everything to win, they'll do the same to us.

Something to think about.

Answer 2

The geneva convention, among other things, sets guidelines internationally of how to treat prisoners. It was important because adhering to it on how you treat other prisoners of war, would help ensure that another country would treat your soldiers in the same way if they are captured. If we treat their prisoners in a terrible way, what is there to make sure that they wont treat our soldiers in the same way that we treated theirs?
Bush wants to rewrite it so that we can torture terrorism suspects(or what he considers terrorism suspects) in order to gain information from them.(Intel recieved through torture is actually unreliable) The geneva convention also says that the prisoners must be accessable to the red cross and other humanitarian causes to ensure that they are being treated humanely.
If you dont abide by the geneva convention, then you are guilty of war crimes, which is what i think bush is ultimately worried about, now realizing that he wasnt abiding by the rules of this convention.

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_convention

But in short, the Geneva Conventions developed treaties as to how countries behave in wars. Countries who signed on to these treaties agreed to follow the rules of war outlined in the treaties in exchange for the country they are fighting against following the rules.

This is important because we have signed international treaties saying that we will follow these rules. Also, at the root of these treaties is the concept that there is an inherent value of humanity, and that it is fundamentally wrong to do many of the things prohibited by the treaties.

Answer 4

An document written and signed in 1949 by most nations agreeing on treatment of prisoners of war (following the brutality of two world wars). Bush doesn't want to re-write it. His argument is that terrorists don't identify themselves by wearing uniforms or act on behalf of legitimate governments and therefore aren't entitled to Geneva Convention consideration.

Answer 5

This is an international agreement on how to treat prisoners of war. I think it was signed by most civilized countries before World War 2.

Answer 6

See the link below for info. on the Geneva conventions.

Answer 7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Convention

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Convention